


Meet Me on the Battlefied

by enbyred



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Emotional, F/M, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyred/pseuds/enbyred
Summary: As Callum and Rayla travel back to Katolis, they get intercepted. Rayla needs help finding Callum, but who would be qualified to help her find a prince?





	Meet Me on the Battlefied

It happened when Rayla was away.

Everything was fine. Really, it was. They returned Zym to his mother a few days ago, and were nearing the breach on their way back to Katolis.

When she left Callum at their campsite, he was building a fire the way she’d taught him, and he was getting ready to settle down for the evening and do some drawing. He gave her a smile and told her that he would be fine on his own for a few minutes, she didn’t need to worry.

But when she came back, he was gone.

There was no fire. His sketchbook was there on the ground. Her blood ran cold.

It was fine, she told herself. He was probably okay.

Maybe he had heard a stream nearby and gone to get some water.

Maybe he had gone to get more wood for the fire.

Maybe he was just playing a prank and wanted to scare her. She didn’t want to admit that it was working.

She lit the fire herself, ignoring the trembling in her hands.  _ He’s okay,  _ she thought to herself, trying to keep her breathing even. _ It’s okay. He told me he would be fine, and he is. He’ll be back any minute. _

An hour passed. Two. The sun began to set.

Callum didn’t come back.

He was competent enough that he shouldn’t take hours finding firewood, and she ruled out the possibility of a prank. She slung his bag and sketchbook over her shoulder and stomped out the fire. There were some hidden elven clans nearby, and she knew where the human outpost was at the breach.

There was no way that a group of elves would help her find him, even if she did manage to convince them that Zym had been returned home and there was no need to fight each other anymore.

And, while the chances of humans listening to her were slim, the people best suited to finding a human prince was other humans.

-

Callum woke sitting upright, head pounding and back sore. Something across his chest kept him pressed up against whatever was at his back. His heart rate picked up.

There were hushed voices around him, and none of them were Rayla’s.

His heart jumped into his throat as he remembered a flash of the ambush.

He had to get away. But how? It wasn’t like he could use magic, with his arms restricted. And even if he did manage to get out, he had no idea where he was or how to get back to Rayla.

How would he get back to her? Where was she? Had they taken her once she got back to the camp? Was she okay?

He drew his knees to his chest and tucked his head down, trying to even his breathing. It got worse, however, every time he thought about Rayla and where she could be. He didn’t dare open his eyes, for fear that she would be tied up too, or unconscious, or worse, nowhere near him.

“Nyra,” a male voice called. “Looks like he’s awake.”

No, no, no, no!

“Good,” the elf named Nyra replied as Callum heard footsteps drawing closer. “Maybe he’ll be inclined to answer our questions.”

-

The closer Rayla got to the breach, the more she trembled. Her entire being was shaking, clutching the strap of Callum’s sketchbook as though if she let go of it, her very life would be destroyed. For all she knew, her life had already been destroyed - by a banther, by someone who didn’t know the war was over, by anyone or anything. He could be dead by now, and her she was, walking directly into a human outpost, as though this wasn’t a death sentence for herself as well.

She shook the thought from her mind. It didn’t matter if they took her, beat her, tried to kill her. She needed their help to find Callum, and she had his sketchbook at her side as evidence. If her memory was right, then this was where Callum’s aunt - who had called her a monster and tried to kill her - was stationed. It wasn’t going to go well anyway, but Rayla didn’t want to think of what the general would do if she recognized her as the same one that had been accused of kidnapping the boys. And now she was carrying Callum’s sketchbook without Callum. Probably, the general would come to the conclusion that Rayla killed him herself. No mercy would be shown.

But if they helped her find him, then it was worth the risk.

She steeled herself and entered the caves. If it was for Callum, then she could manage anything.

-

“I told you,” Callum cried. “I’ve been traveling with another Moonshadow elf, her name is Rayla. We’ve just returned the dragon prince to his mother. There’s no need for the war to continue. Please, please, let me get back to Rayla.”

Nyra rolled their eyes. “Right, I’ll take a human’s word for it that over a thousand years of war was just miraculously ended with the return of an egg that was destroyed. So I’ll ask you again: what are you doing on our side of the breach? Are you trying to kill the dragon queen?”

Callum shook his head, choking back his tears. “No! You can go talk to her yourself, Rayla and I returned her son Azymondias to her just the other day.”

“He’s not going to talk to us like this,” the male elf sighed.

Nyra glared at Callum as they knelt in front of him. “He will, Parehs. When he finds out where we’ve been keeping his dear Rayla.”

Callum’s eyes widened and he tugged against the ropes holding him in place. “She’s here? Please, let me see her!” The tears he’d been fighting were pricking at his eyes. “I’m begging you, just let me see that she’s okay.” He heard his voice break.

With a chuckle, Nyra stood back up. “We’ll show you Rayla once you talk.”

A sob escaped him and he hung his head. What was he supposed to do if they weren’t listening to the truth?

-

Rayla didn’t try to hide her presence. She was trained in stealth, in how to take her enemy by surprise, in how to be the first to attack and never let anyone have the upper hand on her.

She walked through the caves and called out for anyone who could be nearby, anyone who could hear her and help. The longer she walked in the dim caves, the faster she went, and within minutes, she was sprinting through the caverns, searching for anyone. The excessive heat didn’t slow her down. Nothing could slow her down. Not now.

She only stopped when she collided with a human soldier. The human jumped back, calling out in surprise, and Rayla dropped to her knees and kept her head down.

She unhooked her sheathed swords from her back and held them out to him. “I don’t mean any harm. I need your help. Please help me, I need to find Prince Callum.”

The human snatched her blades from her and yanked her arms behind her, pulling her to her feet and pushing her along.

“Don’t mean any harm, my ass,” she growled. “We’ll see what General Amaya wants to do with you.”

Rayla didn’t fight the soldier’s grip on her. Whatever made the humans feel secure that she wasn’t going to hurt them, she would comply. As long as they were convinced that she was telling the truth - even if they weren’t convinced and thought that she was part of the party that took him - maybe they would help. She hoped, prayed that they would help.

She didn’t bother memorizing the twists and turns through the caverns. It wasn’t like she was going to be trying to escape any time soon. But when they reached an open area, the soldier threw Rayla back to her knees.

“Found her running through the caverns,” the soldier explained. “She says she wants help finding Prince Callum, of all people.”

Another soldier snorted. “That’s rich.”

Slow, heavy footsteps approached. Rayla glanced up and saw exactly who she expected: General Amaya, in all her dignity, arms crossed, and glaring down at her.

“‘How convenient,’” Commander Gren interpreted for the general, “‘that the elf who kidnapped my nephews is throwing herself at my feet.’”

-

Callum was exhausted. The elves fed him, gave him water, attended to his physical needs. But the more they questioned him, refusing to believe the truth, the less motivation he had. He sat, slumped against the tree trunk, and remained silent. What was the point in answering their questions if they were going to call him a liar? 

“If he’s the prince like he says he is,” he heard Parehs saying, “then he knows more than he’s letting on. I’ve heard his mother’s sister is in charge of the outpost at the breach, there’s no way he’s never seen it. If we bring him with us, then he’s sure to know where he’s going. And if he says he doesn’t, we can  _ jog his memory _ , and the soldiers will forfeit immediately when they see that we have him.”

“It’s a stretch,” Nyra replied. “There’s always the chance that they don’t know this boy, he could just be any regular child invading our land. If he’s not who he says he is, then we’re risking a lot.”

“But when will a chance like this ever come again?” Parehs hissed. “We have to strike. This is our best shot, we have to take it tonight.”

Nyra was quiet for a moment as they considered. Finally, they sighed, “Fine. We’ll strike tonight. The current phase of the moon should be enough to strengthen us. And we’ll take the boy with us.”

Callum’s heart froze in his chest. They were going to march on the breach, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

-

With her hands bound above her head, Rayla stayed quiet while soldiers argued about what to do with her. They had her weapons and Callum’s sketchbook and bag, all the proof they needed that she was telling the truth and just wanted him back.

“‘So you finally turned on him, did you?’” Amaya asked through Gren. “‘Ezran is lucky that he escaped before you could turn your blade into his back as well.’”

Rayla shook her head. “Ezran left when Corvus found us. He always had the choice to leave. Just find Callum, he’ll tell you that it’s all true.” Tears welling up in her eyes, her voice broke. “He’s my best friend. I would do anything for him, or else I wouldn’t be here asking for your help. Find him, please.”

The two exchanged words in sign language, keeping Rayla in the dark. Her heart was pounding. As far as anyone knew, she was an enemy in their territory. Either they would send out a search party for Callum, or they would kill her right then and there. Or worse...keep her for their mage…

She refused to think about that, and instead focused on the soldiers in front of her.

“‘We want you to tell us everything you know about the elves in the area,’” Gren told her, keeping his eyes on Amaya. “‘Moonshadow, Sunfire, Earthblood, anything. We want to know where they are, if they’re armed, and what their plans are.’”

Rayla stifled a sigh. “I don’t know their plans. I don’t know much about them, but there are a couple of clans near here. If I tell you where they are, do you promise to search for Callum, and only engage in a fight if you’re defending yourselves?”

Amaya and Gren exchanged a glance, and the general snickered, Gren casting Rayla a sympathetic look. Her heart dropped.

-

The sky was dark. Callum wasn’t sure what time it was, or how long it had been since he’d gotten kidnapped. If he was dragged to the breach and Amaya saw that these elves had him captive, she would do all in her power to save him. He knew she would.

But then how would he get back to Rayla? Amaya wouldn’t save her too if the group really did have her. The rational part of his brain knew that they must be lying, that there was no way they actually had her with them. No one would let him see her. For all he knew, she could be…

He shoved the thought from his mind, his breath catching in his throat. He couldn’t afford to think like that. For now, he had to focus on getting away. Unless and until someone showed him that they had Rayla, he could give them just as much trouble as they gave him. He didn’t have her to rely on, and he didn’t have magic, but he still had his mind. There was something he could figure out. There had to be.

Parehs untied him from the tree, binding his hands in front of him instead, and pulled him along. Every warrior from the clan was mobilizing, and they were taking him with them to attack his aunt.

As they walked, the interrogations didn’t stop. They demanded information, but he kept his mouth firmly shut. No matter what, he wouldn’t give them anything they wanted. If they didn’t have the advantage of knowledge, then maybe they would be intimidated enough to back down. Maybe there didn’t have to be a fight tonight.

“This will be much easier for you if you answer our questions,” Nyra hissed.

Callum held his head high, trying to look more confident than he felt. “It’ll be easier for you if you realize this is pointless.”

Their eyes narrowed as they toyed with a knife at their side. “We can and will kill you if necessary.”

Glaring them down, Callum said, “And what makes you think that I can’t wipe you all out?”

Parehs snorted. “You haven’t got any materials for dark magic, we made sure of that. You’re useless.” He looked so proud of himself.

The surety with which he said it made Callum laugh, and he saw a flash of fear in Parehs’s eyes as he asked, “Who said I use dark magic?”

-

“General!”

A soldier came running in, and Amaya gave her attention when Gren let her know of the solider’s presence.

Saluting, the soldier rushed, “Moonshadow elves, approaching the outpost. There must be fifteen or twenty of them, and they look ready for a battle.”

Amaya turned on Rayla, signing aggressively as Gren demanded, “‘You led them here! I’ll have your head on a pike, you foul little-”

Ignoring them, Rayla all but screamed to the soldier, “Was there a human with them?”

The soldier looked taken aback, but thought for a moment. “The scout said that they had a prisoner walking with them. A human boy, it looked like.”

Rayla stopped breathing, and saw Amaya tense as well. The soldier’s words reverberated in her ears. They had him, and he was alive, but who could tell for how much longer? A defenseless human boy was being dragged into a battle. As much faith as Rayla had in him, he wouldn’t survive a fight.

He was going to die.

Rayla was drowning where she stood. She couldn’t breathe. All sound around her disappeared, leaving only the fact that Callum was a hostage. And she couldn’t do anything but beg.

The three soldiers signed for a few moments, taking much too long for Rayla. It was an eternity before Gren turned to her to fill her in on the situation.

“Change of plan,” he told her, his tone softer than she expected. “They want to keep you alive for now. If you’re telling the truth, and that is Prince Callum, we’ll let you live, and trade you for him. But if you’re lying, and this is a trap, then you don’t want to know the kinds of things that’ll happen to you.”

“Fine,” Rayla agreed, her voice cracking. “Kill me if you want, but it’s  _ your _ prince’s life on the line. He’s the one that matters.” If she made it out of this alive, maybe someday he would know just how much he mattered to her.

-

The breach was within sight. A scout had spotted them a little while ago, but whether or not they got away, he had no idea. If they had, then at least the soldiers would be ready. Any glimmer of hope Callum had that the scout would scare the clan away from the breach was extinguished when it only gave them more motivation to keep going. This wasn’t an elite group like the assassins who had killed his stepdad. They were brash, and if as big of a fight happened as they were expecting, his aunt Amaya was going to destroy them. As much as he wanted to get away from them, he didn’t want them destroyed. Just rattled.

They’d given him more space and loosened up on him since he’d made his threat. His hands were still bound, but they weren’t pulling him along like they had been. Nyra was annoyed that everyone was more nervous around him now, and insisted that he was lying to scare them, but they chose to keep their distance just as much as the rest of the elves.

“We should just kill you now,” Nyra sneered. “It’s not like the world will miss another human.”

Callum rolled his eyes. “Remember how all of you reacted when you thought the egg of the dragon prince was destroyed, except it wasn’t, and now he’s back with his mother? Do you really want to think about how humans will react if you kill the prince? My brother is a kind person, and he’ll be a good king, but even he has his limits. Kill me, and all sorts of hell will come raining down on you.”

“It doesn’t matter, Nyra,” Parehs sighed. “We’ll be rid of him soon enough anyway.”

-

Rayla’s hands were bound behind her back, and a soldier kept a firm grip on her arm and shoved her along in the middle of the battalion descending out of the breach, prepared for a fight.

She didn’t care if they fought. She didn’t care if there were casualties. She didn’t care if they wanted to kill each other. None of it mattered. In a hundred years, no one would remember this fight.

But they would remember Callum. The brave young human prince who traveled through Xadia to end the war. If anyone laid a finger on him tonight, he would be a martyr, and it would easily turn her into the killer she’d long decided she never wanted to be.

“Don’t know why you’re so scared of me,” Rayla muttered, halfheartedly jerking her arm from the soldier. “I’m unarmed, I’m a  _ child _ , and it’s not even a full moon.”

“No chances taken,” the soldier growled, holding tighter. “You elves are raised to kill.” The way he spat it made it sound like he thought that was unusual.

Quirking an eyebrow up, Rayla asked, “And you weren’t?”

He didn’t reply, but Rayla felt his grip loosen, just the slightest bit. She’d struck a nerve, and that was certainly something she could keep up.

If she didn’t die first. As much as she knew that the humans would do anything to keep Callum safe, she knew just as well that she wasn’t worth anything to anyone. She was expendable, and it was a coin toss as to whether or not she survived the next ten minutes.

_ It’s fine, Rayla, _ she told herself.  _ Remember what Runaan taught you. I am already dead. I don’t need to be afraid of it. _

But the more she repeated the phrase in her mind, the more she began to realize it wasn’t true.

How could she already be dead when she had so much to live for? When she had some _ one _ to live for? She didn’t want to die. At least not before spending more time with Callum.

-

The human troops came into view, outnumbering the elves by at least two or three times. This wasn’t going to be a battle, this was going to be a massacre. There was no way that any of the elves would make it out alive, and no guarantee that he would either. The moment the fight began, he expected Nyra to slit his throat without hesitation. All that he and Rayla had been through to get Zym back to his mother, and now it was all going to be for nothing. Humans and elves wouldn’t stop fighting, and they wouldn’t care who died.

“Retreat,” Callum blurted, his eyes widening at the troops. “Please, retreat, you can’t win this. Do what you want to me, but don’t engage against the humans, they’ll kill you all.”

Nyra rolled their eyes. “And run like cowards? You’re hardly concerned in this, boy. You’re merely insurance - even if you’re not the prince, humans won’t kill one of their own.”

Shaking his head, Callum said, “If someone doesn’t recognize me, they won’t hesitate to kill me, if it means wiping all of you out. Just listen to me, I’m trying to protect you!” His voice was growing louder, more frantic. This was going to be a disaster.

“Shut him up,” Parehs hissed. “Our position’s already been discovered, they don’t need to know that there’s a coward among us.”

He clamped his mouth shut, but felt himself starting to tremble. He was no good against this many people - a wind rune wasn’t going to blow away a battalion. This was hopeless. And unless Amaya or Gren saw him quickly enough, there was no way he was getting out of this alive.

-

Steeling herself, Rayla tried not to let the humans see how scared she was. She couldn’t make out any distinct faces from this distance, but there was a human boy. All she could tell about him was that he had brown hair. Did that mean it was Callum? Or was another human stupid enough to go into Xadia by himself?

Out in the open without the cover of the caverns, Rayla felt exposed. She didn’t have armor or weapons. If an arrow hit her, stray or not, she wouldn’t be able to do anything. It was already difficult enough with her hands bound behind her back. Physically, she was useless. But if she could just keep picking at this soldier’s heart, maybe she could give herself an advantage.

“This fight is useless,” she whispered to him. “You outnumber them by so much, they’re not going to survive. And who knows if they’ll kill the boy in the process?” When the soldier ignored her, she asked, “Do you have any children at home?”

He softened, for only a moment. “I have a son. He’s fifteen.”

Inching closer, Rayla commented, “Your son and I are the same age. And Prince Callum is just a bit younger. I have parents in Xadia, and I can’t imagine how they would feel if I died here. And I know that you wouldn’t want your son getting caught in this. Can you imagine if he was killed in a pointless battle? If someone hurt him in a war that was already over?”

The soldier’s face fell. “I have a job to do, elf.”

“And I have a  _ name _ ,” she snapped, then reminded herself to be soft with him. “My name is Rayla. What’s your son’s name?”

He lowered his hand from her arm and began telling her in whispers about his son.

-

Nyra unceremoniously yanked Callum to the front of the group. He jabbed his elbow into their side to make them loosen their grip on him, and tried to stand tall. They still thought he was obscenely powerful, and he wasn't going to give up that card quite yet.

"I'm telling you," he insisted, "if you don't turn back now, then this will all be a disaster. If you face them, you die. If you keep me prisoner, you'll face something worse than death."

Nyra narrowed their eyes at him, a death grip on his arm. "If we die today, then we are already dead. This isn't about you, boy, this is about what humans have done to us, and what we will make sure they will do no more."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was all so circular, and they couldn't see it. "If you don't want humans to continue hurting you, then stop hurting them. Hand me over to them and surrender. They won't fight you if they see that I'm unharmed and that you're going to keep a safe distance." It was useless, he knew, but it was worth it to try just one more time. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he knew that within moments, all his efforts would be destroyed.

"We will  _ never _ surrender to the humans," Nyra said with confidence. "We will never back down."

Sighing, Callum shook his head. "Then I hope you've made your peace."

Nyra grinned, looking across at the humans with bloodlust. “Oh, I have.”

They turned to give orders to the other elves, but Callum couldn’t hear them.

His mind was too focused on Rayla. She wouldn't ever know what really happened to him. The chances of him making it out of this alive were getting slimmer by the moment, and if he died here, then the last time they saw each other would be when she was so concerned about leaving him on his own, and he had to tell her that he would be fine.

Maybe the elves had made their peace already. Maybe they really were ready to die, and it didn't bother them.

But he wasn't. He had too many things to do. Too many things to say..

He needed to get back to her. Some way, somehow. He needed her.

-

They were just barely close enough now. Rayla could start making out faces. She didn’t recognize any of the elves. On one hand, that was excellent, because no one she knew would be getting hurt. On the other, her presence wouldn’t be any motivation to keep them from fighting.

A jerked movement at the front of their group caught Rayla’s eye. One of the elves pulled the boy up to stand with them. He kept his head high, and looked unharmed, but there was no guarantee.

The one thing Rayla could guarantee was that his was the one face she recognized. That was Callum. It was him, it was definitely him, and why wasn’t he looking toward her? Why didn’t he see her? What was that elf saying to him, and was he going to be okay?

She stepped forward, and the soldier held her back.

Turning on him, she demanded, “You can see as well as I can that that is Prince Callum. That’s him, you can’t fight today!”

He pulled her back toward him, his eyes narrowed. “Orders are orders. Until the general gives the word, the plan is to attack.”

As though on cue, she heard something shouted from the other side.

“No!” she shouted, kicking the soldier holding her in the stomach. He doubled over and let go of her arm, letting her whip around and start to run.

She barely got a few steps before a body slammed against her back and pinned her to the ground. Struggling against them, she shrieked and wriggled, attempting to free herself. It would be so much easier if her hands were tied in front of her, but of course they had to bind her hands behind her back. She was stuck under a soldier twice her size as tears began filling her vision. Callum - did he see her?  _ Could _ he see her? Had they done something to him? She needed him, and all he was doing was standing there.

Desperately fighting her way out from underneath the soldier, she screamed, “CALLUM!”

He looked at her.

-

Callum couldn’t even his breathing. He could hardly think. The edges of his vision were dark, and everything around him sounded muffled. Part of his brain processed that Nyra gave the order to attack, and his blood ran cold. 

But the clan hardly moved. A commotion had broken out among the human soldiers, and at least the elves had the decency not to attack when something was wrong.

They were distracted. Callum looked around to figure out something to do, some way to escape. Being in the front of the group, it was difficult - someone would see him. Could he create his own commotion? Pretend to faint? Maybe nobody would fight if he suddenly fell ill.

Wait. Among the screams over with the humans, Gren’s voice wasn’t the only one he recognized. There was a higher tone there. One he had been dying to hear.

Her hoarse voice cut through his haze and grabbed his heart. Desperately, she screamed his name.

His attention snapped to her. She was on the ground, a soldier restraining her. The expression on her face looked like she was on the verge of tears. She tried her best to get away from the soldier, but he was too large.

“Rayla,” Callum whispered, his feet moving before the rest of him could realize. He felt the elves try to catch him, but he was running before they could, calling, “RAYLA!”

-

Tears welled up in Rayla’s eyes as Callum sprinted for her and the soldier on her froze.  _ He’s okay. He’s alive. He’s here, and he’s okay _ .

Even with his hands bound in front of him, he drew the rune for lightning and held the spell ready in his hand, glaring at the soldier.

“Get off of her,” Callum ordered with confidence Rayla didn’t realize he had.

The soldier scrambled away, letting Rayla breathe before she stumbled to her feet and ran to Callum. He quenched the spell as soon as she reached him, and he immediately reached for her hands to untie them. In turn, she unbound his.

The moment they were both free, Rayla threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder and letting herself heave the tears that had been building. Callum held her tightly, and they sank together to the dirt. She could feel that he was trembling, and heard his sobs in her ear. But he was  _ there _ . He was  _ alive _ . Nothing else mattered. All that existed was him and their embrace.

“Did they hurt you?” Callum asked, his wavering voice muffled in her hair.

She shook her head and pulled away, just enough to see his face and cup his cheek. “Are you okay? Who are they? Why did they take you?” The questions barely made it out of her mouth before another sob bubbled out of her as she looked at him, strong, alive, and in her arms again, right where he belonged.

“I’m fine,” he whispered, his tone soothing as he leaned his forehead against hers and gripped her hand. As broken as he sounded, merely hearing him and having the sensation of his hand in hers was enough to slow her heart and mind as he said, “I’m okay.”

-

He wiped her face dry from her crying, but could still hardly see through his own blurry vision. What were the chances that she would be here, of all places?

Taking a shaky breath, he couldn’t help but grin at her. There was no need to worry about how he would get back to her now. Like magic, she had appeared right where he needed her. She was the only thing in his world. Everything else had faded away. It was just him and Rayla, careening through space.

“Callum,” Rayla breathed.

He squeezed her hand. “Yeah?”

“I think we’re in the way of the fight.”

Snorting, Callum shook his head. “Let them take their fight somewhere else. This place is for you and me, now. This is neutral ground, and they can’t hurt us. Not here.” He wrapped his arms around her again.

They stayed there in silence like that, trying to calm themselves, sometimes whispering kindnesses to soothe each other. Callum stroked Rayla’s hair, and Rayla kept her hand directly over where she could feel Callum’s heartbeat.

“Callum.”

Gren’s voice made him tense, holding Rayla tighter. He turned his head and glared, releasing Rayla with one arm, poised to use magic against them if he needed to.

Amaya approached slowly, cautiously. “‘You need to get away from her,’” she said, Gren interpreting. “‘Step away, and we can get you to safety.’”

His finger began to glow. “So what, you’ll kill her? I don’t think so.”

Rayla placed a gentle hand on his arm. “You don’t need to hurt them. As long as you’re okay, nobody needs to get hurt today.” She was right, he knew, and lowered his arm, leaning into her.

The two in front of them were dumbstruck, and if Callum was right, there wasn’t just surprise in Amaya’s eyes. It was anger.

That was okay. He could get angry too.

-

“‘You don’t want to be near her,’” Amaya insisted with Gren’s voice. “‘She’s manipulating you to get what she wants.’”

“Right,” Callum snapped, “because throwing herself into danger to get help finding me is definitely manipulation. Sure.” He stood, holding Rayla’s hand tightly as she stayed on the ground, her legs too weak to stand, with the overwhelming feelings she had. “We’ll say she’s been manipulating me by saving my life and Ezran’s all the time, by trusting me even when I didn’t deserve it, and by giving herself up to human solders to save me. She’s not a monster, she’s my best friend. You just can’t see it.” Tugging at Rayla’s hand, he encouraged her to stand with him. “Come on, Rayla. Let’s get out of here.” 

She wobbled to her feet, but stood in place. “They have your sketchbook. And my swords.”

“Why do they have - nevermind.” Standing straighter, Callum demanded, “Give us our things, and we’ll be on our way. Fight each other or don’t, we don’t care.”

Gren spoke for himself, concerned as he stepped toward them. “Your Highness, you don’t know what you’re-”

“No,  _ you _ don’t know what you’re doing!” Callum shouted, and Gren took a step back, like Callum’s words were a physical blow.

Softly, Rayla asked, “We don’t want to fight. I just wanted Callum to be okay. I’ll bring him back to Katolis safely. I promise.”

Silence fell. The elves behind them could be heard talking about what was going on, but none dared to approach. Not after Callum had begun the spell before. Soldiers were hanging back, Amaya and Gren the only two brave enough to go anywhere near them.

“‘Only if we send an escort back with you-’”

Callum cut them off. “Nope. We’re going back unaccompanied. Just me and Rayla, with our things.”

“‘If you hurt him,’” Gren growled as Amaya signed at Rayla, “‘I will stop at nothing to find you and kill you. We’ll give you Callum’s things, but the swords stay with us.’”

Callum shook his head. “No. Those are hers. She hasn’t hurt me, and she never will. If you would bother looking past your own prejudice, you’d see it. Now I’ll ask you again to give us everything you took from her.” Rayla saw a glint of surprise in his eye at his own confidence.

After a charged moment passed where Rayla wasn’t sure if they would listen to him or not, Amaya gestured to a soldier, who approached and begrudgingly handed everything over. Rayla hooked her swords on her back, and Callum slung his bag over his shoulder, holding his sketchbook to him.

“Thank you for your help,” Rayla snarked.

Callum took her hand. “We won’t be dropping by anytime soon.”

-

“You went to  _ them _ for help?” Callum exclaimed as they made their way across the Moonstone Path, trying to get across before sunrise. When they had left the battlefield, both parties had opted to go back to where they came from, deciding not to fight after seeing Callum and Rayla clinging to each other like they had.

“They were nearby!” Rayla told him. “And if anyone is going to want to find and rescue a human prince, it’ll be more humans! Do you really think I would’ve been able to free you from that clan alone? Or do you think that some Earthblood elves would be keen on helping you?”

“I absolutely think you could have done it alone.” Callum turned toward her for a moment before stepping onto another stone. “They probably wouldn’t have questioned your presence much. All you’d have to do was convince them that you were on their side, then cut the ropes.”

With a roll of her eyes, Rayla replied, “Yeah, because I definitely would’ve been able to find you on my own, and convince them that I, a total stranger, am their ally. Doesn’t matter that they were Moonshadow elves, they would only trust me if they knew me.”

“Okay, that’s good that they’re smart,” Callum commented, stepping onto solid ground. “But yeah, that would have made it really difficult. Either way, we’re both okay now. And that’s what matters.”

Rayla stepped behind him and held his hand tightly, staring at their hands. Trying not to let herself cry, she whispered, “I was so scared that I’d lost you, Callum. I don’t know what I would do without you.” She looked up at him. “Promise me that no matter what, we’ll stay together. I don’t know what the next step is from here, but I know that I want to take it with you.”

A heartbeat passed. Two. Callum could hear the beating of his own heart in rhythm with hers.

He pulled her into a tight hug.

“I’ll always be by your side, Rayla,” he assured her. “I promise. I don’t care what anyone says or thinks, I want to stay with you.”

She held him close. “Good.” Pulling away from him, she flashed a grin and tugged him along by his hand. “We’ve got lots more adventures to have together.”


End file.
